Shiellah Sibanda| Bikita West villagers who spoke to ZimEye.com correspondents in Nyika growth point claim that under the threatening circumstances of the just ended by-election there was no way they would not have voted for ZANU PF.

The villagers claim that the election was not fair due to ZANU PF intimidation and victimisation tactics that forced them to vote against their will. They accuse ZANU PF youth and militia of brutally beating several people who were campaigning for the opposition parties, particularly those from the Zimbabwe People First party sending scary warnings that if ZANU PF was to lose the election there was going to be mass bloodshed.

The villagers further claim that some traditional and community leaders were being forced by senior ZANU PF officials to tell people to vote for ZANU PF if they wanted to continue receiving any aid from the ZANU PF government. The disillusioned villagers claim that headmen and chiefs were ordered to submit registers of all their subjects which were going to be cross checked with the figures of votes after the election and the leaders would have to account for any missing vote.

Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF) chairperson for Masvingo, Claudius Makova who has resigned from his post due to the loss to ZANU PF in the by-election confirmed the ZANU PF activities saying that regardless of the fact that on the actual voting day there was “a semblance of tranquillity”, the by-election could not be viewed as “free, fair and credible by any stretch of the imagination”.

“We know that there are some village heads who are acting as Zanu-PF political commissars. One of the biggest culprits is village head Musavengana who told his subjects that they must vote for Zanu-PF,” he said.

“They intimidate people and are introducing other mechanisms to rig this election. This must stop for the good of the nation,” Makova said.

A local villager claimed that they had been given Zanu-PF membership cards on Thursday, in addition to being forced to fill “special” forms ahead of voting.

“They told us that they will know everyone’s vote through the forms. Village heads were also threatened by Zanu-PF and were told that they must make sure that the ruling party wins,” the terrified voter said.